Curious chickens are extremely interested in this camera

These are free range chickens that are living the good life at a little farm in Millbrook, Ontario. They have full run of the yard and forest beside the house, although they gather in the fenced area for food and for protection during the night. Foxes and coyotes also roam free here and the chickens are smart enough to know that they are better off in the coop and behind the wire enclosure. But even their enclosure is a big one. This is life as chickens would want it.

Aside from laying eggs, these chickens don't have much responsibility in life. They scratch and peck, eat grain from their feeder and even some vegetables from the garden. Their owners enjoy the company in the yard and the chickens follow them around like pets, even hopping up on their backs to perch on their shoulders if they are bent over weeding in the garden.

The egg supply never stops here, and in typical smalltown fashion, the extras are put out at the roadside on a little table for passing neighbours to buy. The money jar is left on the table and in several years of operation, only once has somebody forgotten to pay. Their little egg store is a perfect example of buying direct from the producer, limiting the environmental impact of shipping food, and also supporting ethical farming.

The owners were giving a little tour of the henhouse and enclosure to a couple who had been buying eggs from them for several months. Fascinated, the man with the camera phone held out his phone and found that the chickens were extremely curious and completely unafraid. They even took grass right from his hand, much to his delight. The faces of the chickens were quite comical as they looked with great interest at the camera.